Ann M. Rieger

Biography

Ann M. Rieger is a Past President of Davis|Kuelthau, s.c. and currently serves on its Board of Directors. She is a practicing attorney on the firm’s Corporate Team. With 31 years of experience, Ann concentrates her practice in the areas of estate planning, tax planning, tax exempt organizations, and business law. While her clients are typically business owners, professionals and senior executives who appreciate her thoughtful and creative approach to their often complicated personal, tax and financial planning challenges, Ann regularly works with clients of varying personal and financial situations.

Estate and succession planning. Ann has extensive experience in the preparation and implementation of various estate and succession planning techniques, including:

Wills

Revocable trusts

Irrevocable life insurance

Generation skipping transfer trusts

Charitable trusts

Family limited partnerships

Marital property agreements

Powers of attorney

These techniques are often used in combination to help clients achieve their goals of reducing administrative burdens, minimizing taxes, implementing structures to address unique family dynamics, incapacity planning, charitable giving, creditor protection, and other benefits.

Closely-held businesses. When applied to the context of planning involving closely-held businesses, Ann assists clients in tax planning, liability protection, ownership and management succession, and other matters. This includes start up documentation such as the preparation of organizational documents, buy-sell and transfer restriction agreements, and the negotiation and preparation of various other corporate agreements, as well as legal services related to ongoing business operations.

Tax exempt organizations. In assisting tax exempt organizations, Ann regularly counsels clients across the full life cycle of an organization. These critical milestones include:

Incorporation

Obtaining recognition of tax exempt status from the IRS

The structuring of internal policies and procedures to preserve tax exempt status

Consultation regarding government regulation

Contracting

Financing

Compliance with open record/open meeting requirements where applicable and all exemption related matters arising at the local, state and federal levels

Mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring

Representative Clients

Closely held businesses and their owners

High net worth individuals

Tax exempt organizations

Notable Representations

Estate Planning for Business Owner (IDGT, GST): To minimize the impact of taxes on the transfer of wealth from generation to generation, Ann guided a successful business owner in selling his company interests to carefully structured, irrevocable trusts established for the benefit of his children. The design of the plan enabled the client to maintain cash flow from installment payments made under the sale agreement, while avoiding the payment of capital gains tax. Following conclusion of the transaction, the entire business value was excluded from the client’s taxable estate resulting in significant tax savings.

Merger of Tax Exempt Organizations: Ann facilitated the merger of two long-term, successful social service agencies. Through her representation, a local pregnancy support agency was able to combine forces with a complimentary social service organization to create a single entity able to provide higher quality service than either agency could accomplish individually. The newly structured continuing organization is now able to provide a seamless continuum of service to persons who otherwise lack financial, health and social supports.

Conversion of Non-Profit Entity: Ann represents a tax exempt organization created upon the conversion of an insurer from nonprofit status to for-profit ownership. Past efforts have included liquidation of significant stock holdings, negotiation of applicable grant agreements, assistance with regulatory matters and general corporate law assistance. Since its creation, the organization has made significant distributions in support of Wisconsin public health initiatives.